Complicated Matters
by glabolah
Summary: Modern P&P. I know there are a lot already, but this one's different: it's set in middle school. It follows the plotline pretty closely. Get past the first two chapters it improves, I swear! Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Everyone knows that a cute 13-year-old guy entering the 8th grade who also happens to be a famous actor must wish for a girlfriend.

Mrs. Britton kept that in mind as she came bustling into her house on a mild September day, shrieking for her husband, four daughters, and exchange student the family was hosting to come into the living room. Once the seven of them were settled on the couch and many chairs, she began.

"Carl, I have just been talking to Julia outside, Mrs. Lee to you girls, and do you know what she told me? Certainly, you should all want to know!"

A blank silence answered her eager question. Finally, it was Mr. Britton who said slowly, "Well, you obviously want to tell us, and I don't think we have any problem with that, so go ahead. Has Brenda finally got a boyfriend or something?"

"No, silly, that girl's too plain to interest anyone in their right mind, this is much better than that. The Netherly's finally sold their house, and good thing too; it was for sale for nearly a year. But anyways, guess who's moving in? Well, you'd never guess, so I'll just tell you… Will Duncan and his sisters! And even better, they'll be going to Redwood Middle with all of you!"

This time, the two youngest of the girls gasped simultaniously and pretended to swoon, giggling furiously as they arose. Then there was an awkward silence, and again it was Mr. Britton who broke it.

"Well, my dear, that's good, but why are you so hyped up about it? You didn't care a bit when the Lees moved in."

Mrs. Britton laughed. "Don't play games now, Carl. You know that I hope he will end up liking one of our girls and go out with her."

"Mom, he definitely won't go out with any of us," contradicted Chloe. "I mean he's a pretty famous actor. Everyone knows him, and thinks he's _so hot_, _and _he's rich, so he'll certainly be popular. And seeing as only Taylor is popular, but she's only going into 6th grade, there's a very small chance that he'll even consider any of us."

"Well, no, if you talk like that, Chloe," Mrs. Britton said back. "But Daisy here is pretty enough to catch any boy's attention. And she's practically part of the family. You've been here for, what, two years now? Anyways," she continued, turning to her husband, "I want you to go visit the Duncans tomorrow. We should always extend our hospitality to new families."

"Yes," Chloe muttered to Daisy, "to the people who move in a half mile from here. On the other hand, there's no point in visiting those who move in right across the street, like the Lees!" Daisy laughed quietly. Fortunately, her mother hadn't heard, so they were soon dismissed from the living room.

Redwood Middle School held dances throughout the school year, as with most other middle schools. Each dance called for parent chaperones who would guard the doors and separate couples who were dancing too close together or inappropriately, as with most other middle schools.

Unlike most other middle schools, however, the students and faculty of Redwood prided themselves in their dancing. They held mandatory ballroom dancing classes, where boys and girls had to actually hold each other's hands while learning the east coast swing and nightclub two-step. So when the occasional school dance came along, only a few partners danced what most pre-teens would consider "normal" dancing. Both genders became more comfortable with couple dancing. Sitting out at a dance was only for nerds, geeks, and outcasts.

Mrs. Britton took an unusual amount of interest in the first dance of 2006, the Welcome Dance, which took place on the Friday of the first week of school. This dance would be her first chance to see the famous Will Duncan and his family. She decided to volunteer to chaperone the dance.

Chloe's alarm rang at 6:40. It was Monday, and the first day of school. She leaned over to turn it, then reluctantly changed into her clothes. Daisy, with whom she shared a room, had apparently already changed and was now pulling her hair into a ponytail. She was the stereotype of a German girl with straight blond hair and clear blue eyes, tall and slim, yet she hadn't let her beauty turn her popular. Chloe had long decided that it was partly her odd German accent and partly her own influence that had prevented her from joining the popular clique.

Chloe joined Daisy in the bathroom, now wearing plain blue jeans and a green polo. She took the brush from the counter and pulled her annoyingly curly dark brown hair into a rather long ponytail.

"Well, Daisy, ready for the first day of eighth grade?" she said, trying to be cheerful.

"Yeah, but I hope they don't tease me again," the other replied.

"Don't worry about it, Ganseblah…Gansebleh…"

"Ganseblumchen," Daisy gently corrected, saying her name in German.

"Right," said Chloe with a small grin. "I can never get it."

Soon they were walking into their first class, Advanced English. Chloe was disappointed not to see Brenda Lee, her close friend, in the class, but at least Daisy would be there.

Although Chloe had never seen one of Will Duncan's movies, she immediately knew he was in their class. A group of the popular kids had already surrounded him, and even some of the shyer students were standing around. Chloe just rolled her eyes and dragged Daisy to a seat in the back.

Their teacher was a short but fairly thin man who said he had been teaching for nearly 30 years. His name was Mr. Holmes. Chloe was satisfied with him; he quickly got them started working. Their assignment was to read the first chapter of a book written in the 1700's, Pride and Prejudice. Many of the students exchanged skeptical looks, but Chloe was interested. They read aloud, which she found amusing; people spoke a little differently in the 1700's.

"_It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a young man in possession of a great fortune, must be in want of a wife." _


	2. A Good Father

Disclaimer: I forgot to mention in the previous chapter, but I don't own anything of Pride and Prejudice (except a copy of the book).

A/N: I hope you like it so far. I changed all the names to people I know, so it would be more fun to write. You'll just have to figure them out.

The following morning, Chloe was awoken not by her alarm clock, but by a terrible wailing that filled the house. She slipped out of her room. A woman's spine-chilling sobs and shrieks echoed through the hall she crept down, seeming to originate from her parents' room.

Uncertainly, though knowing her mother it was most likely of no matter, she knocked on the door and pushed it open just as her father swept out without giving her a glance.

"Mom?" she said quietly. "Mom, what's up?"

"It's your father!" the other moaned. "It's all his doing."

"Dad? What did he do?" She was starting to get a little nervous.

"It's not exactly what he did, it's what he won't do!" her mom cried. "He insists that he won't go visit Will Duncan! I told him, I said that if he didn't, Mr. Lee surely would and then what would happen? He would fall for Brenda! And then your father suggested that _I_ go visit them, but then took that back, saying that he might fall for me! Oh, he doesn't know how much he upsets my nerves."

Chloe sighed, thoroughly exasperated. "Mom, I'm sure he really means to visit Will Duncan, because it _would_ be rude it he didn't. And now I might as well get dressed; it's 6:30."

Mrs. Britton said, "Oh, if you're getting up, could you bring me a cup of coffee? It really does calm my nerves."

Later that morning, as they were driving to school, Mr. Britton looked back at Chloe, who was quickly fixing her favorite sweater.

"I hope Will will like your sweater, Chloe," he remarked.

Before she could reply, her mother said, "What good is it if we are never to be properly introduced?"

"He's in our English class," Daisy said. "And he might be in some of our other classes that we haven't had yet."

(Redwood Middle ran on a block schedule: four periods one day, the other four the next. They're called green and silver days, for the school colors.)

Instead of answering, Mrs. Britton turned to one of her other daughters and exclaimed, "Stop coughing, Erin. All your coughing tears my nerves to bits."

"I don't cough for the fun of it," Erin snapped.

"Anyways," said her father. "About Will."

"Oh, stop talking about him," his wife sighed. "I'm sick of this Will Duncan."

"Well that's too bad," said Mr. Britton. "If I had known, I wouldn't have driven over there on my way home from work yesterday. But now that I've visited him, I regret that a… an acquaintance is inevitable.

At this Mrs. Britton sighed again, but it was a relieved sigh. She laughed and said, "What a good dad you have, girls! What a fine surprise."

But there was no more time to speak, for they had arrived at school.


	3. Meeting a Gentleman and a Jerk

_Disclaimer: As before, I don't own the plot, characters, anything. They belong to the fabulous Jane Austen._

_A/N: I hope the characters aren't too confusing. But we all had to figure out all the characters when we read the original P&P, right? Anyways, hope you like it. And sorry the update took a while; school just started._

Though his wife and daughters begged and pleaded night and day, Mr. Britton refused to give any intelligence as to the person or character of Will Duncan. Therefore, they had to depend on the word of the Mrs. Lee, who praised him very highly.

The Lee's were a Chinese family who lived just down the street from the Brittons. They had a son and two daughters, the oldest of which was one of Chloe's closest friends. Brenda was nearly a year older than Chloe, but was also in eighth grade because she was a little too young to get into the next grade up. Although Mrs. Britton called her plain, Chloe knew she was smart, sensible girl and thought her at least somewhat pretty.

The Welcome Dance was of great interest among the students of Redwood Middle. Those who had not yet seen Will Duncan (there were few indeed) were very eager to meet him there.

Chloe started preparing for the Welcome Dance at around 4:00, as it would start at 5. She showered, combed her hair instead of brushing it, and chose her clothes more carefully. But standing in front of the mirror next to Daisy, she felt remarkably plain.

Daisy had chosen a spaghetti strap pale silvery-blue knee-length dress with a cropped white short-sleeve shrug (so it would abide by the school dress code). She wore her blond hair in a sophisticated knot and had applied a very little bit of makeup.

Chloe stood next to her in a flared patterned knee-length skirt, white tank top, and olive green short sleeved jacket. Her hair fell loosely in a mass of dark curls almost to the middle of her back except a thin strand on each side, which she had braided and tied in the back, and she wore no makeup.

They walked to the hallway to meet the rest of the family. Taylor, one of the youngest, wore a white flounced miniskirt (she would have worn denim, but it wasn't allowed at some dances), a pale pink cami, a sheer cropped cardigan, and huge dangling earrings. Thick dark eyeliner and mascara surrounded her brown eyes. She had also applied generous amounts of eyeshadow, blush, and lip-gloss. Her shoulder length blond hair was down, as usual.

Erin, who was her twin sister, looked almost exactly the same, except her cami was green and her hair, brown.

Roberta, in 7th grade, appeared to be sulking, as she always was before, during, and after a dance. She had only put on a skirt because it was part of their school's dance etiquette; it was long and a rather dull gray color. On top she had a plain white short sleeve shirt. Her dark almost black hair was pulled into its usual ponytail, although she had added an ornamental hair clip for the occasion.

Seeing as the family was ready, Mrs. Britton herded them all into the car, although her husband chose to stay at home. When they reached the campus, Taylor and Erin bounded out of the car in their white kitten heels to meet their friends, the popular 6th graders. Chloe and Daisy strolled to the entrance line. Mrs. Britton had to find the check-in for chaperones, and Roberta followed her to stay away from the dance as long as possible.

Chloe danced for a while, obliged by their school's dancing etiquette to change partners every two dances. While she stopped to get a soda (they were warm; it was horrible), the whole room suddenly hushed. She looked around for the source of attention.

Five people had appeared at the doorway. The one in front was Will Duncan; Chloe now saw that he was fairly tall and thin with wavy blond hair that fell almost to his hazel eyes. The two females were said to be his sisters. One was tall and slender. She had Will's long nose and thin eyebrows, but her hair was dark and straight, falling layered to the middle of her back. The other, though shorter, looked older. She was rather broader and her brown hair was cropped at chin length. Both females wore black flowing skirts that reached mid-thigh and an elegant tank top.

Besides Will and his sisters, there were two other guys. The short, chubby one was the shorter girl's boyfriend, according to the circulating whispers. The other was very tall, seeming even taller than his companions because of his stiff, straight posture. His dark brown hair was short and gelled up in the front. Chloe suddenly realized that he was also in her English class.

Will seemed to take no notice of the stares, or at least he kept smiling. Gradually the chatter rose again and couples returned to dancing.

A few minutes later, while Chloe was still sipping her soda, she felt a slight tug on her arm. Daisy led her over to the corner where Will was socializing with some 7th graders. When he saw her approaching, he excused himself and walked over to her and Chloe.

"Hi again, Daisy," he said cheerfully.

"Hi, Will," she replied. "This is my sister…well, not really my sister. She's part of my host family. I'm an exchange student from Germany, actually."

"Oh, is that where you get that accent? It's so nice, I wondered what it was."

Daisy blushed very slightly but said, "Anyways, this is Chloe."

Chloe gave him a little wave and said, "Hi Will, nice to meet you."

"The same to you, Chloe," Will replied.

They were about to turn away when Will called, "Hang on, I was going to ask you for the next two dances Daisy. Unless you're dancing with someone else, of course."

Daisy blushed more noticeably this time and said, "Sure."

When she and Chloe were out of earshot, she said, "So what do you think of Will, Chloe? Is he the arrogant idiot you thought he'd be?"

"No, I was really surprised," Chloe said honestly. "Actually, he's pretty nice."

Daisy then had to return to Will to dance. Chloe danced for a few minutes before going to get another soda; she was too tired and thirsty to care that it was disgustingly warm.

While she was sitting, she scanned the room for Will's sisters. She found them standing in a corner with the two guys. They looked displeased with the scene before them and refused to dance, although the tall girl and the tall guy danced once together. Chloe threw away her cup and when she returned to her seat she found the tallest of the group gone. A quick scan around the room found nothing, and she was wondering what had happened to him when she heard Will's voice close by.

"Scotty, I'm not going to have you moping around like this. Why don't you dance?"

The one called Scotty replied, "You know how much I hate dancing unless I really know my partner. Your sisters don't want to dance, and I wouldn't dance with anyone else in here."

"God, you're so picky. Really, I haven't ever met so many nice girls and some of them are prettier than you'd normally find."

"You're dancing with the only pretty girl in here."

"Oh, Scotty, she's _hot_! And she's got this great German accent. But there's one of her friends. I met her earlier; she's part of Daisy's host family. She's pretty, too."

"_Don't _try to hook me up with a shallow California girl who thinks she's all that because she lives in the Hollywood state with Paris Hilton." At this remark, Chloe nearly stalked over there and slapped him. How dare he stereotype people like that!

"Come on. Just look at her, at least," urged Will.

Chloe felt Scotty's eyes analyzing her, but didn't dare look around. Finally she heard him say, "I guess she's acceptable. But she's not pretty enough to tempt me. You should go back to Daisy, or whatever her name is. I'm not going to dance."

Will sighed audibly and returned to Daisy. Chloe waited until he was gone to stand up and walk past his friend Scotty. She gave him a haughty glance before finding Brenda some other friends to tell them what had happened with many laughs. The insult was not taken personally, because she had decided that he was a jerk and not worth fretting about.

When Scotty entered the dance room (aka the school cafeteria) he immediately regretted agreeing to come. It was bad enough that he had to go to this public school with nearly a thousand inane pre-teens and teens. It was worse that Alison would be there to torment him, clinging onto him like a leech on skin. Worst of all, Will seemed to have spotted a pretty girl (a blond girl in a blue dress) and Scotty foresaw having to save him. Again.

For a while, he sulked in a corner with the others except Will, who was off dancing and chatting like usual. Scotty danced once with Alison, but after she started to get a little too close he returned to his corner with boredom as his sole companion.

Finally, Will visited the group and Scotty hoped against hope that they were leaving. But Will just dragged him away from the safety of the corner.

"Scotty, I'm not going to have you moping around like this," he insisted. "Why don't you dance?"

"You know how much I hate dancing unless I really know my partner," Scotty said honestly. It was always awkward when he had no idea of his partner's personality. "Your sisters don't want to dance and I wouldn't dance with anyone else in here."

"God, you're so picky. Really, I haven't met so many nice girls, and some are prettier than you'd normally find."

Scotty sighed. That was Will, always trying to make things better, always complimenting. "You're dancing with the only pretty girl here," he said stubbornly.

"Oh, Scotty, she's _hot_! And she's got this great German accent." Will was a sucker for exotic girls. "But there's one of her friends. I met her earlier; she's part of Daisy's host family. She's cute, too."

And then the public school, and Alison, and the boring-ness (what would you call that?) of the party, and Will falling for another girl got to him and he snapped, "Don't try to hook me up with some California girl who thinks she's all that because she lives in the Hollywood state with Paris Hilton."

Will was quiet for a moment. Scotty knew he had overreacted. He could swear he saw a girl sitting nearby twitch. Finally Will said, "Come on. Just look at her, at least."

Resentfully, Scotty followed Will's gaze to the girl who had twitched. The girl was, in fact, quite pretty, with curly dark hair like Alexa Vega's in the movie Sleepover. He couldn't see her face, but imagined that she would have dark eyes to match. The outfit she wore, or what he could see of it, was much more appropriate than many of the others he'd seen here: a dark green short-sleeve top and a knee-length skirt. But like many of us, he was unwilling to admit that he was wrong. Plus he was in a bad mood. "I guess she's acceptable. But she's not pretty enough to tempt me. You'd better go back to Daisy, or whatever her name is. I'm not going to dance."

Right after Will left to return to the blond girl, the Alexa Vega hair girl stood up and walked past him, tossing him a haughty glance as she passed, and he noticed that her eyes were dark, yes, but they seemed to have something else to them. _Did she hear?_ He wanted to evaporate.


	4. Another Party

Disclaimer: I don't own the plot, characters, etc.

A/N: Thanks to those of you who reviewed! I love you guys so much.

I hope this chapter isn't too boring. Daisy will go to Will's in the next chapter. And I'm sorry if Will is confusing, because most stories call Darcy "Will".

……….……….……….……….

When Daisy and Chloe were alone in their room, the former, who had not said much about Will earlier in the family's company, began to praise him highly.

"Chloe, he's just what a guy should be! He's smart, and polite, and friendly, and he was talking to everyone," said Daisy.

"Yeah, and he also looks pretty good, and a guy should do that if he can," Chloe added.

"That's a huge compliment coming from you," said Daisy. "I was surprised when he asked me to dance a second time. I didn't think he would."

"You didn't?" asked Chloe. "I did. He's not stupid; he could see that you were a gazillion times prettier than any other girl in the room. I give you my permission to like him, if you wish. There are a lot of stupider guys out there you could have liked."

"Chloe!" Daisy chided.

"Do you like his sisters too? I saw you talking to them. I didn't like the look of them, though."

"Neither did I, at first. But I talked with them for a while, and they're actually pretty nice. Alison's going to stay with Will and take care of the house. She's the taller one. Erica, you know, the shorter one, she's actually older. She's in high school. Alison's Will's twin, but I don't think she's going to school right now."

Chloe still disliked them, but didn't argue.

………

Will Duncan, having made a fair few movies, had plentiful amounts of money. His father had wanted him to purchase a small suburban house someday and settle down for a while, but as he passed away from a sudden stroke a year ago and didn't live to see him do it. With his earned and inherited money, Will bought the home in Martinez, California. Even though he was young he was responsible, and with his sister's help and company, he planned to live there for a long while.

He and Scotty Herting were close friends, despite their apparent differences. Scotty and his family had housed Will when he was filming his first major movie. Like Will, Scotty had lost his father and was wealthy. He now maintained his house with his mother's help, although he was definitely the one in charge.

Will trusted Scotty's opinion as much as his own. At that angle, Scotty was higher. Will definitely wasn't lacking, but the other was clever. However, where Will was open and friendly with everyone he met, Scotty was arrogant and restrained. In that manner, Will was the superior. Everyone like him, but was offended by Scotty.

Their conversation back at their house was enough to tell each character.

"That was the most fun I've had in a while," said Will as they settled into the living room. "There were so many nice people there and a lot of pretty girls. They all welcomed me as though I had known them for years. I mean, after about fifteen minutes I felt like I knew everyone in there. And did you see Daisy? She is the prettiest girl I've ever seen!"

"Really Will, did you think them all that good? I saw so many girls who were not pretty at all, in fact kind of ugly. Did you see what all of them were wearing? No elegance at all. I guess Daisy was pretty…" he paused. "She smiled too much, though."

"Yeah she did," agreed Alison, Will's youngest sister. "But I talked to her a bit, and she's very nice." Her sister agreed, so Daisy was established as a very nice girl.

……

The next morning, the Duncans and Scotty came over to the Britton house to visit. Will was friendly to everyone, but especially Daisy. Alison and Erica spoke only to Daisy, and basically ignored the others. Erica's boyfriend said only what was necessary to be polite, and Scotty said nothing at all. Their visit was short and they were soon off.

The Lee's from across the street walked over to the Brittons' house in the afternoon to discuss (and gossip) about the evening's dance. Of the five girls, only Daisy, Chloe, and Roberta were at home when they came; Erin and Taylor had gone to see a movie.

"You did well," said Mrs. Britton to Brenda after the greetings were over. "Will chose you first."

"Yeah, but he liked Daisy better," Brenda replied.

"I guess so. She was the only one he danced twice with. Do you know, I was standing by Victoria Schaefer's father, and I overheard him talking to Will-"

"So you were eavesdropping?" Chloe said, eyebrows raised.

"No, they were standing ten feet away. How could I not hear them? Anyways, Mr. Schaefer asked Will if he thought the girls were pretty and who he thought was the prettiest, and Will said that he thought all the girls pretty, but Daisy was most certainly the prettiest!"

"He sounds a lot better than his friend," said Brenda, looking at Chloe. "Now you will only be _acceptable_."

"Oh, that," laughed Chloe. "I really don't care. He's such a jerk, though! I mean, I was like right there!"

"Don't think it's _acceptable_ to be insulted by him," warned Mrs. Britton. "He's so rude, it'd be unlucky if he liked you. Mrs. Porep said that she stood by him for almost half an hour and he didn't say anything!"

"Are you sure?" said Daisy. "I thought I saw Scotty talking to her."

"Yes, but that was only 'cause she asked him how he liked the dance. She said that he seemed annoyed to have to talk."

"Alison said that he doesn't talk much except with his old friends," informed Daisy. "Then he's really friendly."

"If he was friendly at all," said Mrs. Britton indignantly, "he would have talked to Mrs. Porep."

"I don't care that much that he didn't talk to Mrs. Porep," said Mrs. Lee. "But I wish he'd danced with Chloe."

"You shouldn't dance with him if he asks you next time," advised Mrs. Britton.

"Well, he _is_ rich," said Brenda. "And he's from a higher class family than most of us. I would say that he has something of a right to be proud."

"I wouldn't mind his pride as much if he hadn't humiliate mine," said Chloe.

"Pride is a weakness found in most of us," said Roberta, now that she had confirmed her words. "In everything I've read, pride is very frequent, especially in humans, and everyone has pride of some sort. Vanity and pride are different, although we often use them together. Pride is what we think of ourselves, but vanity is what we want people think of us."

"If I was as rich as Scotty, I wouldn't care how proud I was!" said Brenda's younger sister, Ivy. "I would drink two cans of Coke every day!"

"You'd be drinking way too much soda," said Mrs. Britton. "If I saw you, I would take the Coke away."

"You wouldn't," said Ivy.

"I would," said Mrs. Britton, and they went back and forth.

While they were bickering, Brenda said in an undertone to Chloe, "By the way, I was wondering. It's obvious from the dance that Will likes Daisy, but does she like him?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Chloe. "You've known her for two years; couldn't you tell?"

"I could," agreed Brenda. "But I'm sure Will couldn't. He's only known her a week, if you count school, and that's pretty much the only place he'll ever see her. Most of the time, a girl should seem like she likes a guy more than she actually likes him. Daisy should secure him, and after he asks her out she'll have plenty of time to like him."

"It's time to go," announced Mrs. Lee over the bickering before Chloe could think it over. She concluded, after some consideration, to observe Daisy and decide whether or not to advise her afterward.

……

A dinner party was held at the Lee household the next Friday. The Brittons, the Duncans, and a few other neighbors were invited. As usual, the adults stayed in the living room to socialize while the teens and preteens lounged around Brenda's room and the younger siblings played in Ivy's.

Chloe was looking through one of Brenda's magazines, which happened to be advertising swimsuits. She laughed and pointed out a few ridiculous ones to Brenda and their neighbors Michael and Tiffany, who were siblings.

"That reminds me," she said suddenly to Michael and Tiffany, not laughing anymore. "When are you going to have that swim party you were talking about in July? You can't say it's being cleaned, because it was cleaned during the second week of August, and you added chemicals over Labor Day. So what's your excuse this time? Or is it actually going to happen?"

"Oh, right," said Michael. "Uh, I don't know if our parents will let us, 'cause they're like paranoid about drowning…and if anyone drowned, they'd be held responsible and stuff…" he trailed away meekly.

Chloe laughed. "That's like the worst excuse I've heard from you," she told him. "I know that it was your parents who got my mom to let me do swimming and diving lessons, and said they'd let me practice in their pool, when I was about five."

"Do you swim, then?" said a different voice. Chloe looked around and saw Scotty Herting staring intently at her. His stare made her uncomfortable.

"Well yeah, if Mike's mom got my mom to let me take swim lessons, I must be able to swim," Chloe said in a mock-stupid voice. Scotty frowned slightly and turned away.

After dessert, they didn't return to Brenda's room. All of them stayed in the living room, as if anticipating a performance. Chloe suspected that she would be forced to play the piano, and bought some time by talking to Brenda.

"Why do you think Scotty was listening to me talking to Mike earlier?" she asked.

"There's only one person who knows, and he's an idiotic egotistic jerk," her friend responded.

"If he keeps doing that, I'll have to ask him why the heck he's staring at me. If I don't start being rude, I'm going to be scared of him."

She had barely said that when Brenda elbowed her arm and jerked her head sideways. The very person they had been talking about had walked towards them and was now quite close.

"Don't mention anything," hissed Brenda so he wouldn't hear. Her advising Chloe against it provoked her to do it. She walked up to him.

"Didn't you think I was teasing Mike really good earlier?" she said. "Or rather, really well?"

He showed the tiniest hint of a smile, and replied, "Yes, but girls always want pool parties."

"That's not fair," retorted Chloe. "Not all girls like pool parties. And actually, I don't particularly like them. It's just that Mike's been putting it off since July."

"Well, it'll be your turn to be teased next," said Brenda to Chloe. "I'm going to open up the piano soon, and you know what happens next!"

Chloe sighed half jokingly. "You are a weird friend you know, always making me play when people are over. What other friend in the world does that? And FYI, I am not going to play tonight."

"Oh come on Chloe," insisted Brenda, pulling a sad face. Her friend yielded.

She picked two songs; one was from Brenda's book of Bach Two-Part Inventions and the other was a more contemporary piece that she happened to have learned recently. Both were played well, but without perfection either technically or expression-wise.

Roberta hurried forward after the second song and Chloe gladly gave her the spotlight. The younger was basically a tomboy; she wasn't at all interested in her looks or gossip. She was athletic (playing soccer and basketball and running often), a 4.0 student, an avid reader to the extent of obsession, very hardworking in music, and not popular. It is not meant that girls are not typically the above mentioned, it's just that Roberta was very much all of them. She didn't have any talent naturally in sports or music, and therefore toiled long hours to accomplish both.

Her taste in music was different than most young people, as she preferred to play and listen to long Beethoven sonatas than new music (no offense meant to Beethoven, of course). That was what she was playing currently, as her two younger sisters impatiently awaited the conclusion of the piece.

As Roberta paused between the first and second movements, Taylor called out, "Why don't you play us like a Strauss at least, Roberta? Then we'd at least be able to practice our waltzing." The performer turned indignantly to her mother for support, but in vain. Mrs. Britton would rather hear a Strauss. Roberta reluctantly obliged, and Taylor triumphantly led Erica, Tiffany, Michael, and their other neighbor Anthony to the side of the room more suitable for dancing.

Mr. Lee was attempting conversation with Scotty, asking if he danced often, when Chloe walked by them, intending to get some water from the kitchen.

"Chloe! Why aren't you dancing?" said Mr. Lee. He turned and said, "Scotty, she is a very good partner, very pretty and a good dancer. You can't say no." He was surprised, but would not have said no. However, Chloe had no intention of dancing, and especially not with the idiotic egotistic jerk.

"Oh sorry, but I was just going to get a drink from the kitchen," she explained quickly. "I didn't walk over here to beg for a partner." With that she spun around and headed into the kitchen.

Had she stayed in the living room, she would have seen Alison approach Scotty only a few seconds after she left. He was thinking of her eyes, which always seemed to echo her mood. Just now they had shone with defiance.

"I know what you're thinking," Alison broke into his thoughts. He started slightly before replying.

"Bet you can't."

"You're thinking about how boring it'll be to spend your evenings this way, in such noise!"

"No, I was actually thinking about a pair of pretty eyes."

"Really?" gasped Alison. "Who?" It took some pleading to get the answer out of him.

"Chloe Britton."

"Chloe!" she repeated. "How long have you liked her? Are you going to ask her out anytime soon?"

Scotty rolled his eyes, but did not have time to reply, because Chloe herself had just emerged from the kitchen.

……………

A/N That was a long chapter. I still feel like the story's moving kind of slow, though. Oh well. Review please!


	5. Planned Disaster

A/N: Sorry the wait is really long, but it'll be a week longer than it would have been, because I'm just recovering from an eye infection. My eye's still all red and swollen. So anyways, Daisy is FINALLY going to Will's.

Disclaimer: I don't own the story, characters, etc.

……….……….……….……….

During a Wednesday English class in late September, an office note was sent in for Daisy. The whole class looked up, confused, as office notes were only handed to students who had to be excused from school early or who were in trouble. Mr. Holmes quietly took the small green slip of paper, read it, smirked, and handed it to Daisy before continuing with the chapter of Pride and Prejudice that he had been reading to them. Daisy glanced quickly at the note and smiled a bit before slipping it into her folder.

During break, which was the 10 minutes between first and second period, Daisy showed Chloe the note. It read:

Dear Daisy,

If u don't come 2 our place tomorrow 4 dinner, Erica and I r so going 2 like kill each other, cuz we'll have 2 spend the whole afternoon by ourselves. Will and Scotty r going 2 the movies with some guys from your school, and then I think they're going downtown 2 eat Fatburger. Come around 5, or a little earlier.

C u then,

Alison

So Alison Duncan had sent an office note to Daisy, confusing everyone and disrupting the class, with an invitation to dinner using abbreviated computer language!

Their mother, however, was pleased with the invitation and disappointed only because the guys wouldn't be there. Daisy showed it to her at dinner that night.

"So that's why Stephen and Blade couldn't go bowling with me and Erin," mused Taylor.

"It's only too bad that the boys won't be home," lamented their mother again.

"So who's going to drive me there?" said Daisy, for although Chloe had previously estimated that the distance there was a half-mile, it was nearly three times that distance. She expected the car, as Mr. Britton got home from work early on Fridays.

"No, not driving. Ride your bike there. The weather people said it'll rain Friday evening, and then you'll have to stay all night."

"And if they offer to send her home themselves?" pointed out Chloe. "They have two cars, you know."

"Hmm…oh, but the boys will have one, and they'll be taking the driver," said her mom. "They only have one driver."

"Can't I go in the car?" pleaded Daisy. "I would like it much better."

"No dear, because I think Dad has a meeting this Friday. Haven't you?" she asked.

"Yes, unfortunately. I get to sit through three Power Point Presentations."

"Poor Dad," sympathized Chloe.

But on Friday it would not be "poor Mom". At about 4:45, she rushed Daisy out the door, glancing happily at the dark cloudy sky. Her planning went smoothly, as a steady rain began to fall only five minutes after Daisy left. The rain quickly swelled into a heavy downpour that drummed loudly against the window out of which Chloe was staring anxiously.

The next morning, Chloe received an email from Daisy.

_Hey Chloe,_

Well, your mom's going to be happy. I've got a fever of 100.2 as of 7:30 today, which I guess is from riding in the rain yesterday. They gave me some Advil, and I feel a lot better now, and Will brought his laptop into the guest bedroom (that's where I am) so I could use it. They're all really nice, bringing me stuff so I don't have to get up or anything.

_I hope everything's okay at home. Don't worry about me._

_Daisy_

Chloe frowned at the email. Daisy was sick, and Chloe wanted to make sure she was really okay. The rain no longer pounded on her bedroom window; in fact the sky was beginning to clear up. It would be a pleasant day for a walk.

She turned off the computer and went to the dining room, where her mother was opening up some frozen sausages and waffles to heat up for her sleepy family's breakfast.

"Mom, Daisy's sick," she announced. "She's got a fever of 100.2."

"Well dear," said her dad to her mom, "If Daisy gets really sick with pneumonia or something and dies, we'll be happy to know that it was to chase Will Duncan, and it was your idea."

Her mother laughed. "Of course not. People don't die of fevers. They'll take good care of her."

"I was thinking of going there," said Chloe. "I don't need the car. I'll just run, since I don't like to ride my bike."

"What?" her mother exclaimed. "Run a mile in a half after the rain in all this mud? They are rich higher-class people, you know, and after running a mile and a half in the mud you wouldn't be fit to be seen by anyone."

"I'll be _fit_ to see Daisy, and that's all I want," replied Chloe resolutely. Her mind was made.

As she jogged on the unpaved Canal Trail to Will's house, curly dark hair whipping her head in the wind, mud splashed onto the ends of her jeans and soaked into her shoes. The chilly air prevented her from getting all sweaty, but her face grew pink with the cardio activity. By the time she reached the turn to Will's house, she was quite a sight with her loose untidy ponytail coming undone, brown mud caked onto her jeans, and still a little out of breath after walking the last bit.

The trail branched off, one of the branches leading to Will's huge backyard. Chloe stepped into a sea of brilliant pink, orange, purple, and red flowers separated by a simple stone pathway. She saw a solitary male figure meandering through the garden, and judging by his height and straight posture knew it to be the person she hoped wouldn't be the one to greet her.

Scotty looked up and strode quickly towards her. She moaned inwardly but had to speak when he neared her and slowed down.

"Chloe," he said, and she watched him take in her appearance. "Hi."

"Hi," she said in return. "Umm, I came to see how Daisy's doing."

"Ah." There was a short pause.

"So…could you show me where she is? Unless she's hiding in this zinnia bush, of course. Then I'll just find her myself." He just turned and led her silently down the most direct path to the house.

God, why can I never think of what to say when I'm talking to her? I sound like I'm mentally retarded. I think I said a total of three words there.

Chloe entered a spacious living room painted a warm beige-gold and furnished with a comfortable looking olive-green couch and two matching armchairs. Will was sprawled in one of the chairs with a history textbook propped onto his knees. Alison and Erica were sitting at opposite ends of the couch. Alison was flipping through a _Seventeen _magazine while Erica was intently studying an advertisement for lip-gloss. Her boyfriend, Paul, slouched in the other armchair with a Coke in his hand. All four of them looked up when Chloe arrived.

"Oh, hello Chloe," said Will quickly closing the book and standing up. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks," she replied. "And how are all of you?"

"We're fine," said Alison, shutting the magazine and taking the newcomer's appearance.

"You're here to see Daisy, I guess?" said Erica, looking up from the lip-gloss ad. She, too, seemed to be staring at Chloe's pink face and muddy jeans, but didn't say anything about them.

"Yep. She emailed me this morning and said you guys were being really good to her and all, but I thought I'd come anyways. It's not like I think you're not taking care of her or anything."

"I'm sure she'll be glad to see you," said Alison.

"Hey Scotty, why don't you show her the room, and I'll get some breakfast," offered Will.

"You guys haven't eaten yet?" said Chloe. She had always thought her family ate late.

"We might not want to eat at all, if Will's making breakfast," said Scotty, and Chloe saw him grin for the first time. The smile made him look more welcoming and friendly, but it somehow took away from his dark, mysterious look.

"I'll get some scrambled eggs," said Alison. "Even Scotty says I make the best scrambled eggs." She smiled sweetly at him. His grin vanished, his scowl returned, and he rolled his eyes. Chloe bit back a laugh. A different person's attention, however, seemed to be sparked; Mike sat up suddenly at the mention of scrambled eggs. This was too much, and she had to fake a hacking cough.

"Daisy's over here," said Scotty, and he started towards a closed door. Chloe followed.

Daisy was propped up against a headboard. On a matching bedside table were several books that Daisy seemed to have been reading. They were her favorites: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Ella Enchanted, and some German book. She was dozing, but awoke when Chloe and Scotty arrived.

"Chloe!" she said weakly. "I'm so glad you came."

"Hey," Chloe greeted her. "How're you feeling? Need some water or anything?"

"Water would be good."

Chloe turned around to ask Scotty to get some water, but he had already left, so she had to get the water herself.

When Scotty returned to the living room alone, Alison immediately started berating Chloe.

"God, did you see what that…_creature_ looked like when she came in?" she began. Erica absently nodded her agreement. Scotty ignored her. Alison continued, "Mud splattered all over her, and her face all red, and her hair was a mess! Really, Scotty, you wouldn't want Kristy to put on a scene like that."

"I suppose not." He didn't add that he probably would have done what Chloe had for his sister.

"I thought it was really sweet," said Will. "It shows how much she cares about Daisy."

"I hope this hasn't ruined your opinion of those 'fine eyes'," said Alison, smirking.

"No, her eyes were only brightened by the exercise."

Alison blinked and lapsed into silence.

"How is she?" she asked when Chloe reentered the living room, sounding anxious. "Is her temperature down yet?"

"I haven't checked yet," replied Chloe. "But she's a little thirsty. I was going to get some water."

"Here, I'll show you," said Will. He showed her an extra faucet at the sink that was for purified drinking water. Alison sent Erica to get the thermometer while Chloe filled a glass of water.

Daisy gratefully downed the water, and then Chloe checked her temperature.

"101.3," she read. "I'll get you another Advil and some more water."

Will was rather concerned when Chloe told him and the others, and his sisters seemed so worried about their friend's health that she began to think they weren't so bad after all.

At around four o'clock in the afternoon, Chloe said regretfully that she had to leave.

"Why don't you stay here over the weekend?" suggested Will.

"Could I?" she said hesitantly. She didn't want to be a bother for them. And she wasn't sure she could stand more than ten minutes with Alison, Erica, and Scotty.

"Of course! And I'm sure Daisy will be glad."

Chloe grinned broadly and gave Will a giant bear hug. Alison and Erica gave her a disgusted look, and Scotty seemed surprised at her boldness. Paul just stared blankly.

"Thank you! Thank you so much, Will," she exclaimed, releasing him. Will grinned meekly. "Okay, so now I have to call Mom and have her bring some clothes over, because I think you guys would appreciate it if we had clean clothes. And our toothbrushes, and a brush, and…" The sound of her voice faded away as she disappeared into Daisy's room to get the cell phone, leaving the others still in shock and Scotty to wonder at her mood swings.

A/N: Sigh I had the eye infection about three months ago. Three months I've been working (and procrastinating) on this chapter. sigh

So everyone knows what's coming up! Major heated verbal…uh…debates? between Chloe (Lizzy) and Scotty (Darcy). It should be good. Review!


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